Okay…for those of you who’ve known me for a while, you know I’ve had a beef allergy for about three years and have, of course, been muddling through a lactose intolerance issue for almost a decade. Bacon double cheeseburgers, which I think are just heavenly, and shamrock shakes, which are heavenly, too, just in a chemically derived, synthetically redeemed manner, will never be a part of my diet again.
And I’m okay with that.
Have been.
Late this past fall, though, I encountered a little touchiness from several folks who, for one reason or another, found my rapidly narrowing food preferences to be a little off-putting. So…to try to expand on what I could eat, I experimented with organic buffalo one Sunday afternoon in early January. I was hopeful that things would go okay.
They didn’t.
Within about fifteen minutes, I started to experience a very familiar itchiness inside my ears. I can remember thinking to myself, Dang, the moment the itchiness began. I immediately took Benadryl to try to counter the allergic reaction, but, within a few minutes, my entire body became just one big hive. (Jumping ahead to later, when I was in the emergency room at Durham Regional, the ER nurses kept saying stuff like, “Impressive,” as they surveyed the hives all over my body. I’m not quite sure why they used THAT particular word, but I will grant that my hives probably were impressive.). Needless to write, things here in my apartment got really, really uncomfortable in a very short time.
To help me pass the time (and get past my allergic reaction), I laid down for a few minutes only to get up as I began to feel my breathing deteriorate into a scratchy wheeziness. When this kind of thing has happened before, I discovered that standing up seemed to help me feel a little better. So that’s what I did. And it seemed to help. But, as my breathing improved, my mind quickly returned to my hives, which were, as I alluded to above, becoming really, really uncomfortable. To try to take my mind off my hives, I sat at my computer and tried to write some, which I did for about a half an hour or so. Since that seemed to work (as the itchiness seemed to subside a little during that time period), I thought that, perhaps, I was finally on the mend.
Until I stood up.
And discovered that, rather than getting better, things seemed to have gone from bad to worse—much worse, actually—as I almost lost consciousness.
Everything—and I mean, EVERYTHING—around me got really bright, and, at the same time, I began to feel myself pulling back to somewhere deep inside myself. If you’ve never experienced such a thing before, it’s a very weird feeling. The only other times when I’ve felt such things were when one of my training partners or opponents clocked me pretty good in the ring. In a former life, I was involved pretty heavily in Muay Thai and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts), and it was not uncommon to experience such sensations when my head and my opponent’s foot connected at precisely the right moment. The hollow echo one feels in one's head after such an event is not particularly pleasant either, but discussions about that shall be reserved for another time and place.
Anyway…as everything went light, I remember stepping back away from my computer and putting my hand on the kitchen counter to steady myself. I kept having this sinking feeling that something really, really wrong was happening. And I was right. I didn’t know it consciously at the time, but my blood pleasure was tanking…dangerously so. I remember crying out to God and asking Him what to do.
Immediately, in my spirit, I heard, Call Chris and Kristen, which I did. On a phone, mind you, that had not been working properly for several days. This time, though, it worked perfectly—miraculously so. (Yep...God’s Hand—Thank you, Father!!)
And here's another cool thing, too: I got Kristen just as she was leaving the third service at church. She made it to my apartment in about five minutes and drove me to Durham Regional. Her husband, Chris, who oversees all the church tech stuff on Sunday mornings, met us at the hospital a little later.
I spent about five hours in the emergency room that afternoon as the ER staff politely monitored my condition and pumped me full of things that really did help me feel better. I am so thankful to have the kind of care we have here in the United States.
A couple weeks later, as I was sitting in my allergist’s office, he talked with me a bit about the incident of two weeks before. What he said shocked and scared me a little. With a sternness that perhaps only a doctor, teacher, or parent can muster, he said that had I NOT gotten myself to the emergency room it's quite possible that someone might have found me in my apartment some several days later.
THAT got my attention!!
THAT got my attention!!
So...as a result of all of this, I got tested for food allergies, and, as it turns out, I am severely allergic to the following foods:
- Red meat (beef, buffalo, etc.)
- Pork
- Deer
- Sheep
- Goat
- All shellfish (EXCEPT shrimp—YES, God does love me!)
I discovered, too, that I am mildly allergic to the following foods:
- Wheat
- Oats
- Barley
Add to all of the above, my lactose intolerance, and you’ve just eliminated a good portion of the common American diet from foods available for consumption by YT (yours truly).
Bummer?
Maybe….maybe not...
I’m opting for maybe not. And here’s why…
I now eat fish, chicken, turkey, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and seeds in abundance, and I feel the best I’ve felt in…well, probably my whole life. I’m 45 years old, and I can do things now that I never dreamed I could do when I was in my twenties. Yeah, my stamina isn’t quite what it used to be, and I do experience soreness sometimes, but in terms of how I feel, I feel just pretty dang fabulous. I love what I eat, I eat until I’m satisfied—completely (which I love!), I sleep until I no longer feel tired, I get to hike, run, bike, lift weights, stretch, kick and strike the crap out of my heavy bag, and, on occasion, even spar with a friend or two.
God is so very good to me, and I am so very grateful to have all of this really useful information, now.
I was telling some friends the other day that I have a new goal in life, and that’s this…to see all my epi pens expire each year.
Peace out, y’all,
Bling
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